DOWN IN FLAMES: How to recognize attorney burnout and rekindle the fire

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Paula Davis-Laack knew something wasn’t right.

“I didn’t know what it was, but I was disengaged and work wasn’t going the same way for me,” said Davis-Laack, who started a practice in commercial real estate law in 2002. “I wasn’t feeling enthusiastic about jumping out of bed and going to the office. And, as it got worse, I had physical symptoms.”

She sought treatment for stomach troubles. She also tried sleeping more and adjusting her attitude.

Nothing worked.

Finally, she saw what was wrong.

“I self-diagnosed that this is something called burnout,” she said. “I kind of crashed when the market did.”

Davis-Laack left her practice in 2009. That’s when her story took a turn for the better.

“That’s what launched me into this whole new career,” she said. “I burned out in the last year of my law practice and went for my master’s degree in applied positive psychology. I learned research-based methods to build stress resilience. And when I finished, I was lucky enough to be chosen to be part of the University of Pennsylvania’s training team teaching drill sergeants and soldiers four years of monthly trainings, resilience skills.”

She founded the Davis Laack Stress & Resilience Institute in Elm Grove in 2010. She now spends much of her time helping attorneys and other professionals learn to manage stress, build resilience and prevent burnout.

So, what can be done?

“You absolutely can pull yourself back from the edge,” Davis-Laack said. “But burnout is a spectrum, and it depends where you are on the spectrum. If it gets to the point where you are physically ill, seeing a doctor, you are having trouble at work, then it’s a bit more serious. Maybe you have to go on a sabbatical, maybe you need a career change, maybe you need to have a serious conversation with a managing partner. But if you back yourself up and you’re not to that point, yeah, there are absolutely things people can do.”

“The best thing — and kind of what stress resilience when you get good at it — comes down to two things: practicing safe stress and increasing your diet of positive emotions,” Davis Laack said.

Practice safe stress

So often, we hear stress is bad.

“And it can be,” Davis-Laack conceded. “But it’s also important to recognize the positive side.”

To turn that negative into a positive, Davis-Laack suggests that you:

Turn your inner critic into an inner coach

Instead of succumbing to an avalanche of self-doubt when a situation gets stressful — thinking “I’ll never get this all done, I can’t do this, etc.” — think about what you can actually accomplish. Then set smaller, more-manageable tasks and goals to achieve those outcomes. This will not only help you get through short-term troubles, but can also help mental toughness.

Connect more

Raise your hand and say, ‘I need help.’ Walk down the hallway and talk to a colleague, even when you’re not having a problem. Those relationships are important for managing stress.

Develop a diet of healthy emotions

To bolster your daily dose of good emotions, start by looking on the bright side. Count your blessings.

“And don’t be afraid to really lower the bar,” Davis-Laack said. “This does not have to be life-changing stuff. Sometimes you have to start with, ‘I woke up this morning,’ and reflect on why that is important to you.”

Then, tell those good things to loved ones, friends and colleagues.

“It really creates a spiral of positivity,” she said. “Positive emotions are just as contagious as negative emotions, but we tend to focus on the negative.”